Netflix Looking to Become a Cable Channel

With Netflix crafting original content like House of Cards and Hemlock, not to mention bringing Arrested Development back from the dead, it’s no surprise to hear from THR that the DVD mailer and streaming TV and film provider is looking to expand their services to cable subscribers in the form of a Netflix channel. Apparently, at a recent investor conference, CEO Reed Hastings hinted at talking with cable providers about setting up a Netflix channel. It only makes sense, especially after not renewing a deal with Starz for all their TV series and film content.

As of now, at least one cable company is looking to try out Netflix’s ambition, but the licensing agreements would need to be reworked as their current deals with content providers don’t allow Netflix to bring it to cable set-top boxes. This is even more worrisome for someone like HBO, the pay cable giant who won’t give Netflix the rights to stream their online content since they have HBO Go working out so well. This is still very much in the early stages of development, so don’t expect to see Netflix on your cable channel list for awhile. However, it raises the question of just how much more original content Netlflix plans to make to fill an entire channel, though I’m sure their movie and TV series already available would help fill the gaps. Stay tuned.